Cowboys owner Jerry Jones addressed his reportedly fiery exchange with Patriots owner Robert Kraft on Friday.
As all 32 NFL owners convened to open negotiations for NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to receive a new contact, Jones and Kraft reportedly exchanged words that included profanity on Jones’s behalf, according to ESPN’s Seth Wickersham. Jones was the only owner against Goodell earning a new contract in the owners-only assembly.
In his disapproval, Jones told Kraft don’t f — with me.” Kraft responded to Jones, saying “excuse me,” before Jones doubled down on his stance, saying “don’t mess with me,” according to the report.
In an appearance on 105.3 The Fan radio station in Dallas on Friday, Jones said it was “not surprising” that his recent comment was leaked to the media and that he could have handled the situation in a different manner.
“It’s probably accurate that I did express myself in probably a way that’s not in good taste,” Jones said.
The reasoning behind Jones going against the NFL’s compensation committee to begin discussion on a new contract for Goodell stems from his belief that the commissioner’s proposed bonus pool in a new agreement would be ambiguous and not strictly set to economic goals and metrics. The 80-year-old reportedly seeks strong accountability on the “financial goals” associated with “Roger’s bonus” and is hesitant to award the commissioner a bonus before he “performs” the deeds that come with earning a bonus.
Goodell accumulated nearly $128 million over a two-year period from 2020 to 2021, according to the New York Times. With the owners voting 31–1 to open discussions on a new contract for Goodell in the meeting, it appears that they would like to see Goodell remain as the league’s commissioner for the foreseeable future, a role that he has held since 2006.
In the last 16 years, Goodell has aided in the process of the NFL solidifying a new 10-year collective bargaining agreement, added a 17th game to the NFL regular season, established long-term broadcast deals and ensured that the 2020 COVID-19 season did not have any games canceled.
However, the league also currently finds itself dealing with a myriad of player health and safety issues with an emphasis on concussions and head injuries as well as wrongdoings and allegations of misconduct against the Commanders organization and owner Dan Snyder.
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